Many forms of fencing droppers or battens for wire fence lines are known. Among these known droppers or battens are wooden members one piece or sectional sheet metal members or simply a length of fencing wire tied or otherwise clamped onto the wires of the fence line. The tool of the present invention is designed to provide an economical but effective and quick method of attaching a wire dropper or batten to the wires of a fence line.
Broadly the invention provides a tool for attaching a wire dropper to a wire of a fence line comprising a body with a first wire engagement means for reception of a fence wire, lever mounting means for the reception of a lever whereby said body can be rotated by said lever about an axis which is parallel with the longitudinal axis of said fence wire, when the fence wire is engaged in said first wire engagement means, second wire engagement means for the reception of a wire dropper, said second wire engagement means located substantially at right angles to said first wire engagement means so that a dropper engaged in said second engagement means lies at right angles to said fence wire, said second wire engagement means comprising a support recess which is located on said body in a position which is to one side of the rotational axis of said body, the support recess terminating at a distance from said rotational axis which is at least equal to the sum of the radii of said fence wire and said dropper, the body further including ramp means located adjacent said support recess whereby with a fence wire and a dropper wire received in the respective first and second wire engagement means and the body rotated about said rotational axis the dropper wire is wound around said fence wire and said ramp means engages with said dropper wire to cause deflection thereof such that said dropper wire is coiled about said fence wire.